


Stars

by EbonyDazed



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Rachel is a time traveler AU, amberprice
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-03-26 08:50:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13854270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EbonyDazed/pseuds/EbonyDazed
Summary: "It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves." - William ShakespeareRachel is a time traveler AURachel's made a hundred mistakes, all of which she regrets. She knows she messed up and wants nothing more then to go back and fix everything she broke. When that opportunity presents itself, will she be able to change her future?Warnings and Tags will be applied as chapters are written.





	1. What Is Past Is Prologue

"We all were sea-swallow'd, though some cast again  
to perform an act  
Whereof what's past is prologue; what to come,  
In yours and my discharge."

- _William Shakespeare, The Tempest_

 

The flashes of the camera are dim as Rachel feels herself start to come out of the drug induced state her mind had been in. This had been her life, her personal underground hell with grey walls and white vinyl. It was the same thing over and over. Nathan or Jefferson would pump her with drugs before she blacked out for hours, slowly waking up to the flashing of light and the presence of someone near her or over her. Her clothing arranged whatever way they wanted, her hair in her face, like she was a rag doll made only to be tossed around. 

Nathan’s putting away the camera he was working with, flashing her a dirty look as she starts to return his look with a glare. She hates him, so fucking much. She thought he was her friend, harmless Nathan Prescott, he sure proved her wrong. The days she spent tutoring him and listening to him bitch about his life. Time she spent because she felt sorry for him, because he, like Chloe, seemed to just need someone to lean on. Ironic it seemed that Samantha had called them similar, they couldn’t be farther from it now. Nathan liked to hurt people, Chloe wasn’t like that. Chloe would rather get hurt herself then to hurt others. Nathan helped kidnap innocent girls.

She almost hates him as much as she hates herself. This was her own fault, her own drug addiction that got her grabbed to begin with. Drugs that lead her to take her entire life apart piece by piece. First with the stupid focus drugs that helped her keep her top marks in classes, then her need to get higher causing her to cheat on her girlfriend, and now she’s tied to a chair, missing half her clothing, forced to go though photoshoots with Arcadia Bay’s sadistic psychopath. 

“Fuck you,” Rachel growls at him the minute she can. The minute she feels her vocal cords working again. Her voice is raspy from not being used. She doesn't exactly spend time talking to her captor. She was done begging for his help. He made it clear he would rather kiss Jefferson’s ass then help someone who had been his friend for years now. The only words she exchanged with him now were the usual four-letter ones that demonstrated her hatred. She hates him, and she wants him to know that. With every fiber of her being she wants him to sit there knowing how much she fucking hates him. Nathan doesn’t get a chance to respond to the statement before Mark Jefferson comes into the room, holding a piece of paper that seems to interest him. Oh how excited Blackwell was to show off their new famous photography professor. How Nathan bragged about his father convincing the professional with a fancy Prescott style dinner with wine older then fucking dinosaurs. New students came from all over to learn from him. Would they still do that if they saw his collection of child pornography? 

“How’d our model do? Still a little…mouthy?” Jefferson smirked as he kneels before Rachel. She snarls at him and spits in his direction, a mix of spit and blood from cracked lips stain his shirt before his hand comes up to strike the side of her face. The loud smack echoes through the walls of the room. The silence that follows is deafening. “Look what I found.”

His tone is teasing and light as if he never struck her in the first place. The very tune was that of a snake that had tricked people to fall for his charms. Rachel turns her head to glare at him when the look dies the second she sees what’s in his hands. It’s a missing person’s poster. Her missing person’s poster. She stares at her own face smiling back at her. The picture was taken a few months ago, in Chloe’s room. There’s a second picture as well, the selfie Rachel took the night her and Chloe met at the old saw mill. Her smile far brighter in that image then the later one. 

“She’s an interesting one, your little girlfriend. She has this up all over Arcadia Bay,” Jefferson laughs and Rachel feels the guilt sink into her. Chloe was still looking for her. If she had known all of the things that Rachel had done, would she still look? “That hopelessness in her eyes, I bet it would look haunting on film.”

“Don’t you dare fucking touch her.” Rachel barks louder then her voice had gone in…days? Months? she could hardly remember how long she’s been here. She struggles against her bonds and Jefferson sighs as he places the poster down on the nearby table and slugs her again, hitting her in the chest and causing her to choke. 

“Nathan, maybe you should take that one. Switch subjects for a minute.” Jefferson says over Rachel’s coughing. “Or better yet, shoot them together. A beautiful tragic image of two lovers. Both broken in their own ways. One horribly unfaithful while the other has the faithfulness of a dog.”

When he walks away Rachel turns to stare at the photo of herself, beaming at the Firewalk concert. The picture is folded so she can’t see Choe next to her. But she still remembers Chloe’s little smile next to her…the first time she ever saw Chloe smile. Chloe’s voice, one that always made her feel safe. Chloe eyes, she wishes she could see that shade of blue now. Her messy hair with that blue streak that made them match.

What she wouldn’t give to go back, to just…not turn into the person she was now, a captive drug addict who destroyed everyone she ever cared about. Chloe…her dad…her mom.

A loser who gave up nights snuggled in a warm bed with her girlfriend to spend her nights in a cold RV with a pedophile who’s wanted to bang her since she was 15.

An addict who got high off adderall when she couldn’t deal with all the stress of school. Eventually trading said adderall for drugs with longer names and horrid side effects.

A fucking cheater who gave up the smile of her girlfriend who loved her and supported her to have to sit face to face with a monster.

The picture starts to blur and Rachel feels tears stain her vision. She wants to go back…go back…go fucking back. Slowly the picture starts to appear cleaner until her entire world is white.

“Rachel!” Suddenly Rachel feels herself surrounded by bright multi-colored lights, loud music, and the thrashing of bodies. She feels warm blood flow down her face from her nose and her entire body go crashing down only to be caught by strong arms. There’s yelling next, something about…someone hitting her? 

“Dude, what the hell?!” A familiar voice yells over the music. She…almost forgot what that voice sounded like. “Watch where your fuckin’ flailing.”

“I didn’t touch her!” Fainter, farther away, a mans voice calls back.

She feels someone scoop her up and she feels herself become surrounded by the familiar smell of tobacco and cotton. In a few minutes she feels someone maneuvering her to a sitting position and something being pressed to her face to catch the blood coming from her nose. When she opens her eyes she takes in her surroundings, she’s…outside the old mill, with Firewalk preforming behind the wood walls, and…

“Chloe?” Rachel asks as she looks over to see the other girl’s concerned face, her hoodie is off and after a moment Rachel realizes it’s what the other girl had been using to try to control the blood coming from her. What had happened? Why was she back here? Did the universe really…give her another chance? A chance she clearly didn’t deserve after everything she’s done. No way, you don’t have a bad dream for two years…She really went back.

Rachel tries to process everything when she sees Chloe lean forward a little more, concern in those beautiful blue eyes. Eyes that were filled with sadness, filled with self-loathing, filled with wonder. Those were eyes Rachel remembered from before the nights of hard-drugs. Eyes that still held warmth before Rachel had took it all away without the other girl knowing. Rachel blinks back the rest of the fog clouding her vision and notices Chloe offer her a small smile.

“How about I walk you home, Thrasher, I think that guy got you pretty good.” Chloe’s voice is nervous, young, kind, everything she was before Rachel ruined her. But Rachel has another chance and right now she wants to do everything differently. She wants to treat Chloe better, the way Chloe deserves to be treated. 

“That…would be great.” Rachel flashes the other girl a smile, her voice still raspy, her throat hurts a bit and she can taste blood. Chloe stands first, offering Rachel her hand. Rachel’s legs wobble slightly as they start the walk back. Chloe’s hand stays steady at her arm as Rachel slowly gains strength back in her legs, the world around her feeling more real. She’s really here. She’s really back in time. Back to when everything started. Armed with what she knew could happen, maybe she can change it. Maybe she can give Chloe the future she deserves.

“Still loosing blood?” Chloe asks suddenly and Rachel suddenly feels guilty for using Chloe’s hoodie has a tissue.

“Oh, sorry,” Rachel apologizes as she pulls the cotton away from her nose, seeing that the stream of blood had, in fact, died down. “Why are you helping me?”

Her passing out has already altered things. Before, after the concert, her and Chloe had parted ways without another word. Now Chloe was escorting her home.

“What? Leave you there with a bunch of shady douchebags?” Chloe’s eyebrows raise at the question, “Besides, you saved me, so I guess I’m returning the favor.”

“Thank you,”

It’s all Rachel can say, it’s quiet and warm, she feels herself smile at the girl before her. The girl she knew so well, the girl she wanted to be better for. The girl who was the reason she needed to fix everything she’s done. She would find a way…for her. For those hopeful blue eyes, one of which has the first signs of a bruise forming around it. It’ll be worse tomorrow, Rachel knows, but right now, all she can focus on is the gentle look Chloe is giving her.

“What’s that look for?” Chloe asks suddenly and Rachel becomes aware of the fact that she was staring at the other girl with a stupid smile on her face.

“N-nothing,” Rachel turned her head, feeling her ears burn at being caught. She wonders if Chloe caught her blushing, because she can see her rubbing the back of her neck with her free hand out of the corner of her eye. 

They reach the front of the Amber house and Rachel is brought back to the first time her and Chloe came here…or maybe the first time they came here in another lifetime. It wasafter their first kiss…she supposed it was a little early to kiss Chloe now, even though she really wanted to.

“This is me,” She states instead as Chloe shifts from foot to foot awkwardly.

“See you at school…I guess.” Chloe grumbles before she turns to leave. Rachel feels the disappointment creep up on her before remembering that she and Chloe weren’t in a relationship…yet. Rachel watches her leave, seeing Chloe look over her shoulder a final time before she’s out of sight.

Rachel sneaks back into her house, taking a familiar path through the house as to not make a noise. She looks around the room with it’s familiar theatre and star decor. A quick change of clothes and she’s laying on the bed, staring up at the dark ceiling.

Tomorrow she would make sure everything started differently.

After that…who knows where her and Chloe could go.


	2. I Was Too Young

_“I was too young that time to value her,_

_But now I know her. If she be a traitor,_

_Why, so am I. We still have slept together,_

_Rose at an instant, learned, played, eat together,_

_And wheresoe'er we went, like Juno's swans,_

_Still we went coupled and inseparable.”_

**― William Shakespeare, _As You Like It_**

Waking up that next morning felt surreal. It was like confirmation that Rachel really had gone back in time. Rachel was amazed at how well she seemed to remember this day as she stood in her bathroom getting ready for school, blue plaid flannel and skinny jeans like she had worn the day everything started. She felt like she was playing a role in one of her plays, like she had rehearsed this day over and over, every one of her movements were calculated and timed perfectly in a way that Rachel just knew she had done before. Rachel looks at her face in the mirror, untouched by drugs and age, her hair shorter then it was, or was going to be, no scar on her arm, no tattoo on her wrist or leg.

God this was weird, people don’t just…go back in time. That’s not a thing. Unless you’re Dr. Who and have a Tardis to go back in time with. And yet there she stood, back to her 15-year-old self. She sighed as she heard her mom…Rose call and tell her breakfast was ready. She slips back into her room to grab her phone, and sees the familiar black hoodie tossed over the laundry basket in her room, deep red bloodstain dried on the back.

Well, she couldn’t return it to Chloe like that.

She goes downstairs for breakfast, trying to think of a way to get the hoodie clean and back to Chloe, it was the least she felt she could do. Even if this was early in their relationship, Rachel felt like she needed to do this. She needed to make everything right for Chloe, even if it meant cleaning and returning a simple black hoodie.

“Hey, Mom?” Rachel asks from the table she was seated at, eating her breakfast, “Weird question, how do you get blood out of clothing?”

Rose raises her eyebrow at her, OK not the most subtle way of asking.

“Did you cut yourself?” Rachel could feel her mom examining her from where she stood trying to find a visible cut or something on her. 

“Funny story, I got this really bad nosebleed all of a sudden, my friend freaked out and gave me the first thing in reach to help stop the bleeding, which happened to be her hoodie.” Rachel offered up, it wasn’t a complete lie, “I feel horrible about it, but I’m not sure how to get it clean.”

Rose offers a chuckle, “I can take a look at it, I’m pretty well-versed in stain removal. Bring it down before you leave. If I can’t get it out, it may need to be replaced.”

“OK, thanks mom.” Rachel would buy Chloe a thousand new hoodies if she knew that would make her happy. 

Leaving her house, she felt like she was on auto pilot, the bus ride to school, rehearsal for _The Tempest_ , everything here felt like it was the same as it was the first time it happened. During one of Dana and Hayden’s run-throughs, Rachel chanced a look out the window. She noticed Steph, Mikey, and Chloe playing their tabletop game. Whatever’s going on, Chloe looks way too pleased with herself. Mikey’s smiling too and Steph’s head shakes before she moves to roll a dice behind her DM barrier. 

One of the things she regrets was the wedge she pushed between Steph and Chloe. Those two…they could have been such good friends. In many ways Chloe had needed Steph around as some kind of rock, or spirit guide as Chloe had once referred to the auburn haired girl as. But of course, Rachel ruined it. She had attempted to flirt with Steph to get to her dad’s movie industry connections, only to have Steph turn around and tell Chloe about it. At the time, it had shocked Rachel to think that Steph would go so far to have Chloe’s back. So she denied all the claims when Chloe asked her about it. Resulting in a huge fight the two and Chloe completely cutting Steph off.

Steph was loyal to Chloe in ways Rachel wasn’t. This time, those two could stay friends, hopefully. 

Rachel’s head picks up when she notices Chloe hop off the table, exchanging a few last words with Steph and Mikey before walking away. Rachel sighed and slipped out of the Drama Lab unnoticed and headed for the front doors. She could hear Chloe and Drew arguing when she got there, she looked out the small window for a moment to see Drew drop the sketchbook at Nathan’s feet before stalking away. The girl, Samantha, Rachel believes her name was, talks to Chloe for a few seconds before Skip comes over.

Everything according to script. 

Rachel takes a few steps back, waiting until she hears footsteps before changing at the door, swinging it open and catching the familiar startled look on Chloe’s face as she backs up a few steps from the door.

“Oh, good! you’re here.” Rachel recited perfectly before grabbing Chloe’s hand and pulling her into the school. Chloe seems to stumble a bit behind her as Rachel pulls her along. Longing for the touch of the strawberry blonde girl, Rachel ends up holding her hand a little longer then before as she leads her to the Drama Lab where Hayden and Dana are doing yet another run-through of lines. This time in front of Mr. Keaton.

“I do beseech you, chiefly that I might set it in my prayers: What is your name?”

“Miranda…Oh, my father! I have broke your hest to say so!”

Rachel had to admit, Dana had played this role well, she had been so dedicated to learn all her lines. And she was so patient with Hayden. Despite all the rumors people sent her way, Dana was a good person. Rachel looks on nervously, knowing Hayden messes up his next lines.

“Admired Maranda! Indeed worth what’s dearest in the world. Many a lady I have eyed with best regard, and-“

Rachel bounces on her feel, looking over at Chloe as Hayden realizes they are watching, stumbling on his next line until Mr. Keaton cut him off.

“Hayden! You’re killing me! You’ve had weeks to be off book!” 

“Sorry, Mr. Keaton.” Hayden hangs his head as he takes the criticism of the teacher. 

“No, don’t apologize to me. Apologize to your scene partner, who’s been very accommodating, and to your other fellow actors, and most of all, to yourself-“

“Mr. Keaton” Rachel interrupts in time before the drama professor could cut into Hayden any more. “Sorry to interrupt, but does this look better? I had my mom take it in a bit.”

Rachel gives a few spins, feeling Chloe’s eyes on her as she does so. She gives the taller girl a wink as she passes the second time, just as she did before, trying not to blush under the intense blue gaze she felt herself under.

“Mrrowww! Looking good, Rach.” Dana calls from the stage. Hayden offers a nod in agreement.

“Very cool.” 

“Exquisite, Rachel, As always.” 

Rachel sneaks a glance over her shoulder at the silent girl standing in the doorway. Chloe’s wearing that head-tilted puppy dog look for a second before she tries to school her features when Dana starts talking about another line from the scene. Everything feels like Deja Vu, Rachel decides as she readies herself to say her next line.

“Yeah, that is hard. We’ve talked about that line forever. We need a fresh perspective.” Stage right, loop arm around hot, lanky, blonde, Rachel could have laughed at herself for the sudden stage directions as she played her part. “The question is: are Miranda’s feeling of instant passion for Ferdinand just inexperience and dramatic circumstances or…has she really just met the love of her life? What do you think?”

Rachel keeps her smile on her face, waiting for Chloe’s speech about how Miranda was an idiot, just like last time. The expectant faces of everyone in the room as they stare at the outsider cause said outsider to hesitate for a moment, glancing at Rachel for a second before answering,

“Sometimes, when you meet someone who’s going to change your life, you just know it, I guess.” 

Rachel tries to keep her eyebrows from shooting up at the answer, smiling a little wider when Chloe’s blue eyes meet hers again, almost asking a question that Rachel couldn’t really pinpoint. 

“Also, you’ve got parents coming to see the show, right? At twenty bucks a ticket, it’s got to be true love.” 

“Wow, a romantic and a cynic. That actually kinda helps me, thanks.” Dana speaks first, offering Chloe a smile as she thanked her. The bell rings and Dana and Hayden say their farewells as they walk out of the classroom, Mr. Keaton mumbling something about his improv class with the freshman as he too walks away. Rachel takes a few steps forward, making sure the room is empty before turning back to her companion. If Chloe could go off-script, so could she.

“Gotta say Price, that was pretty poetic.” Rachel smiles as she girl seems a little startled at the words. “Who knew you were so good at words?”

“Wh-What?” The girl stutters shyly and Rachel chuckles good-naturedly.

“Thanks by the way, Dana’s been trying to nail that line for weeks.” Rachel adds before taking in the dark bruise around Chloe’s left eye. Rachel takes a step forward, coming close and raising her hand subconsciously as if to touch the skin under the dark mark. “Damn, that asshole really clocked you.”

Chloe backs up, expression reminding Rachel of a puppy that’s been kicked too many times. Maybe she crossed a bit of a line, the bruise looked like it hurt like a bitch and it didn’t look like Chloe was willing to trust her yet.

“It wasn’t a big deal.”

Rachel smiled at the other girl before turning to the dressing room, “I’ll just be a minute. Could you do me a huge favor and grab my belt? It’s in my bag.” 

Rachel offers another wink before disappearing into the room.

“Y-Yeah, S-sure.” She hears Chloe stutter again. 

The small dressing room off the Drama Lab was a familiar space. The line of mirrors and countertops littered with a series of different types of makeup, the large rack of costumes, the small changing area off to the side, everything was as she remembered it. Even the series of pencils stuck to the ceiling and the angry note on Hayden’s mirror from Steph. A poster advertising _The Tempest_ was taped to one of the walls, Nathan and her next to each other in their character costumes. 

It hits Rachel like a brick wall, she almost forgot about the boy who had not yet turned into one of her captors. Rachel can feel her hatred for the rich boy in the image. Everything he did in the dark room, or more like was going to do in the dark room, came back at her full force. In a strange way, Rachel felt as if it already happened, like parts of her mind were still stuck in the future even though her body was back in the past.

God she needed to breathe. She needed to calm down. She can’t let herself get upset about stuff that hasn’t happened yet. Taking a deep breath she stripped of her Prospera costume and started to put her normal clothes on. _Things are changing_ , Rachel noted to herself as she slipped on her jeans, _In small ways, but they are changing_.

“Rachel-“ Rachel jumped at the sound of the voice being so close, turning around to see Chloe behind her flashing the belt Rachel had asked her to retrieve. Chloe averts her gaze, looking everywhere but Rachel’s topless form. “S-sorry, I called you but you didn’t answer so…”

“That’s OK,” Rachel flashed a flirty smirk that she’s sure Chloe didn’t see because of her refusal to look her in the eye. “Thanks for getting my belt, you’re a lifesaver, Price.”

Rachel holds her hand out for the belt, watching Chloe slowly hand it over before slinking out of the changing area, “I’ll, let you finish changing” Chloe murmured on her way out like a spooked deer.

Rachel sighed fondly, she really missed this more bashful side of Chloe. She was so easy to tease.

Rachel finished getting dressed and strutted out from behind the divider to see Chloe pacing around the room, glancing at all the things that decorated the small area.

“Chloe Price.”

“Rachel Amber?”

“Thank you for being my knight in shining armor last night.” Rachel presses, seeing Chloe rub her neck almost immediately. “I mean it, you really saved my ass back there Price.”

“You saved mine.” Chloe pointed out, “Probably wouldn’t be walking right now if you didn’t show up.”

“You defiantly have one hell of a battle scar to prove it,” Rachel gestured to the black eye again, “Do you want me to cover that with some makeup?”

Chloe looks conflicted, and Rachel thinks back to how she flinched when Rachel had tried to touch the mark the first time.

“As helpful as that might be, it kinda hurts.” Chloe admitted, Rachel wants to slap herself for trying to touch her before. “Would be nice for people to stop talking about it.”

The last part is quieter, and Rachel might have missed it if she wasn’t so close. An annoyed look crossing Chloe face, proof of the teasing Chloe must have gotten on her way in from school today.

“Steph keeps a first-aid kit back here, if it hurts I’m sure she has something in there that can help it.” Rachel offers going towards where she knows Steph keeps one of the many first-aid kits hidden around the Drama Lab. She locates the red box pushed behind one the the shelves and retrieves it, walking back over to Chloe and plopping the case on the counter.

“You don’t have to.”

“I want to,” Rachel stated at Chloe’s comment as she looks through the case. She pulls a thing of witch hazel out of the case as well as a few cotton balls. Dana had said witch hazel was good for various things, including bruises and black eyes, something she had learned from the girls’ soccer team players. Rachel applies the witch hazel to one of the cotton balls and turns to Chloe, the taller girl examining her closely.

“Close your eyes,” Rachel offers softly as she steps closer, Chloe only flinches once at the first touch of the cotton ball by the discolored portion of her eye. The tension slowly leaves her body after that and Rachel can feel herself relax. 

“So,” Rachel started as she turned away, Chloe opening her eyes to look back at her. “Wanna go with me on a little field trip?”

“…Rachel Amber wants to ditch?” Chloe asks, tilting her head. Her blue eyes shined with amusement. Rachel smiles at her, ready to face the next part of the day.

“Is that weird?”

“Ah, no, it’s awesome!”

Rachel lets out a chuckle as she returns the first aid kit to it’s proper spot. 

“Let’s get the hell out of here.”

________________________________________________

“If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? Russia, Greece…Kathmandu?”

Rachel decides it shouldn’t be this much fun to be back on the train playing two truths and a lie with Chloe, but it is. She actually bouncing in her seat and Chloe’s chuckled at her more then once, telling her she’ll fall off the damn train if she keeps it up.

“Russia could be fun, I guess.” Chloe offers and Rachel almost beams at the new information being thrown her way.

“Best ballet in the world,” Rachel offers almost laughing at Chloe’s face, “Also, best vodka in the world.”

“Now we’re talking.” Chloe smirks before her face changes again, as if she’s not sure if she wants to say what she wants to say next. After a moment her expression becomes a little shyer, “Maybe…Patagonia?”

“Wow,” Rachel snorts, taken back by that, “Where did that come from?”

Chloe looks away, an unusual smile ghosting on her face before being replaced by her usual unsure look.

“My…dad used to love Neruda.”

“The Poet?” Rachel asks as Chloe turn back to her, giving an affirmative nod.

“He would…read to me when I was little…before bed. He would tell me about Neruda’s journey through the mountain.” Chloe’s face takes on an almost dreamy look, “It sounded adventurous.”

Was it possible to be so charmed by the same person twice. Rachel smile gets wider. Chloe never told her that before. 

“What was your favorite poem?”

Chloe thinks for a second, like the question was much harder then it really was. Or maybe Chloe’s just contemplating if she wants to show how much of a poetry nerd she was to Rachel.

“ _If You Forget Me_.” Chloe answered finally, “It-uh, is still my favorite.”

Rachel smiles at the red dust across Chloe’s face as she looks away, clearly a little embarrassed to have confessed it. 

“You’ll have to read it to me someday.”

“I’m sure it puts your Shakespeare shit to shame,” Chloe teases and Rachel feels herself laugh a little at that.

“We’ll see, Price.”

________________________________________________

_God why does this suck?_ Rachel thought to herself as she moves away from the viewfinder after seeing her father kissing her biological mother. _Note to self: Time travel doesn’t make things suck less then it did the first time._

“Rachel?” Rachel hears Chloe’s voice ask as Rachel stands off to the side, arms crossed, and trying to keep her temper under control. She was already emotionally exhausted, there’s no way she can deal with all the drama right now. She just wants to curl up in Chloe’s arms and sleep for two days straight. “Rachel?” 

Chloe’s voice is closer this time, approaching Rachel slowly like she’s a wild animal. Rachel sighs, exhaling some of the stress she feels right now.

“That was my dad.” Rachel starts, looking over her shoulder to see her companion look to the ground.

“Oh,” Chloe looks to the ground, kicking some dirt off her already war-torn sneakers. 

“And the-“ Rachel shakes her head, words getting stuck in her throat. The lie dies in her throat, she doesn’t want to act like she doesn’t know what’s going on, she just…can’t tell Chloe she went back in time and now…what? She’ll think Rachel was insane. “I’ve never seen that women before in my life.”

That was safer and the truth. Not counting the years she erased, she really hadn’t seen the women before.

“Rachel-“ Chloe cuts herself off, not sure what to say, “I’m…I’m sorry.”

“For what, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Rachel offers with a humorless chuckle at the end. “You came with me no questions asked.” 

Rachel’s voice is quiet, contemplating her next words, “I…knew he was hiding something, I just didn’t know what it was. So I snooped in his phone and found these messages from an unknown number asking him to meet. I thought…I could catch him.”

Rachel wanted to get this part over with, she really didn’t want to talk about her father cheating on her mother with her birth mother anymore. It was confusing then and it’s confusing now. Her head already hurts trying to process all the info for the second time now.

“Why bring me though?” Chloe asks, her voice closer then before, Rachel figures she must have had to step closer so she could hear Rachel talking.

“You’re a badass, Chloe Price,” Rachel gave a short laugh, knowing her voice cracked a little at the words, “You talked your way through that bouncer at the mill, you dropped that one douchebag with a kick to the balls, you told Drew off.” 

“I know you were there for the douchebag, but you…saw all of that?” Chloe asks after processing the rush of words Rachel offers her. Rachel nods,

“If something went wrong, you’d be like…my dark knight.”

The chuckle that pulls from Chloe causes Rachel to smile.

“I’m Batman now?” Chloe snorts, “I don’t have that many gadgets, or that much money to pull off Batman.”

“Hmm,” Rachel pretended to think, “Maybe Spider-Man then. You could pull off science nerd Peter Parker.”

“Your nerd is showing Rachel Amber,” Chloe teased from behind her, causing Rachel to give a watery chuckle. Rachel finally turns around to face Chloe, who offers her a soft smile at the tears that threaten to fall down Rachel’s face. Rachel returns it for a moment before rushing forward, wrapping her arms around the taller girl’s waist and burying her face in her shoulder. She feels Chloe stiffen in her grip for a few silent seconds before she feels an awkward yet reassuring pat on her back.

“I-uh, feel like I should be apologizing for smelling like stale cigarettes and cheap beer.” Chloe’s voice holds a very self-conscious tone that Rachel is all to familiar with. Her only response is to hold on to the other girl tighter, the cotton of the black Firewalk T-shirt pressing against her cheek. Eventually Chloe relaxes into the grip, rubbing a hand on Rachel’s back to provide comfort. 

A few seconds go by before Rachel slowly pulls away, staying close and offering the taller girl a calm smile, “Let’s go do something else.”

“Lead the way,”

________________________________________________

Rachel knows she’s the one that suggested train hopping, but Chloe was the one with the weird obsession with trains, or more specifically the train tracks. Chloe seemed to gravitate towards them for a strange reason. Rachel almost feels weird about this, in the future hell, she recalls Chloe once telling her that she liked the tracks because if she wanted to off herself that was the most effective way of doing it.

She was high as hell on a bad day when she had said that. She had given a different answer sober, simply that the tracks made her feel calmer for some reason. Rachel was never entirely convinced that death wasn’t involved in that answer either…maybe not seeing how genuinely happy Chloe seems to be balancing on the rails and trotting along like a child on a walk through the park.

“Hey, check it out!” Rachel smiles seeing Chloe’s face light up like a child’s as American Rust comes into view. 

“I see rustic charm is your thing.” Rachel can’t help but tease, her expression holds shock for a moment when Chloe reaches forward, grabbing Rachel’s wrist and tugging her towards the junkyard. 

“Let’s explore!” 

“Ow, OK!” Rachel laughs when she trips over the rail on the tracks and gets tugged along by Chloe towards the familiar piles of trash and forgotten cars. She feels Chloe’s hand loosen and release her as something catches her eye and she trots off. Rachel watches the girl look around, that smile on her face easily the most charming thing she’s ever seen. 

Chloe turns a corner and disappears from sight. Rachel shakes her head and starts to slowly follow after her. 

“Find anything interesting?” Rachel calls over, she stops and waits for a response, her smile fades when she doesn’t get one. “Chloe?”

No answer.

“Hey Price, if you’re going to jump out at me that’s not funny.” Rachel feels her heart rate speed up, concern immediately taking over as she sets to a light jog around the piles of junk in the direction Chloe went. “Chloe?!”

Rachel turns the corner and feels a sudden relief when she sees the girl standing a few yards away. Rachel strides up, swinging her arms as she does so.

“Jesus Price, way to give me a heart attack, I thought something got you.” Rachel flashes a smile before it fades when Chloe doesn’t make a move to acknowledge her presence. Rachel slows her steps as she approaches the girl almost afraid that if she got to her, she was disappear and everything about her traveling back in time would be a dream.

When she gets close enough to see Chloe’s face, a wave of worry hits her like a ton of bricks. All of the color is gone from Chloe’s face, she’s shaking, and her breathing is coming in uneven bursts. Rachel turns her attention to what Chloe’s fixated on, seeing a heavily smashed in blue car a few yards away.

The air feels strangely heavy, Rachel looks between the two before advancing on the car. There was something about it that was bothering Chloe and Rachel wanted to find out what it was. 

On closer inspection, Rachel decides it’s just creepy, the car is so badly bashed in. There’s dried blood caked onto the driver’s side interior of the car. _Her dad died in a car crash, maybe this stuff just…freaks her out?_ Rachel thought before looking back at Chloe, who hadn’t moved a muscle toward or away from the car. _No, she’s not close enough to see the blood. maybe its just the car? but there are other ones here that have clearly been in accidents._

Something catches Rachel’s eye, a corner of something sticking out from the mirror above the driver’s seat. Rachel reaches up and slips the piece of paper out of place.

The second it comes into view, Rachel’s blood runs cold. It was a photo, with Joyce, a very young Chloe, and a man who Rachel recognized as William.

_This is her dad’s car._

Rachel jumps at the sound of crunching metal, spinning around to see Chloe had moved forward, hand pressing against the hood of the car as if she could somehow push it back into place. Rachel feels her heart ache for the girl as she pockets the photo before inserting herself between Chloe and the car, wrapping one hand around the arm Chloe had placed on the car and the other resting on the taller girl’s shoulder.

“Chloe,” Rachel’s voice is soft as haunting blue eyes meet her hazel ones, tears had already started to fall down Chloe’s face, Rachel can feel her rapid beating heart against the heel of her hand. Her pupils are narrow and her breathing is starting to border on hyperventilation. Rachel can feel the other girl shaking under her hands.

_She’s having a panic attack._ Rachel realizes suddenly. She needed to get Chloe away from this damn car. Rachel takes a breath and tries to guide Chloe away with a gentle push to her shoulder and arm. Chloe’s already pretty far gone, the push causes her to loose her balance. Rachel rushes to keep Chloe from getting hurt in the fall, both of their knees hitting the dirt ground in a solid thump. 

Ok, that didn’t work, but she still need Chloe to calm down. 

“Chloe,” Rachel started reaching a hand up to Chloe’s face, resting her palm on the girl’s cheek, “Hey, What color are my eyes?”

She’s had to stop Nathan from having a panic attack a hundred times during their stunts in Drama Lab when they were still friends (and in some ways she supposed they still were in this timeline…for now), but she’s never had to talk Chloe out of one. A few jump scares from waking up with nightmares, but never a panic attack. _Did she go through this by herself? When I left her the first time?_

Chloe’s breathing is still erratic, but she does focus on Rachel’s face.

“G-greenish?” Chloe chokes out, Rachel smiles, she’s close enough. 

“What’s something you can hear?” Rachel asks wanting to ground Chloe before her attack got too bad, the sooner she talks Chloe out the better.

“The bird.” Chloe starts almost gesturing to the raven sitting on a tree a few yards away, “and you.”

Rachel moves to run her free hand up and down Chloe’s forearm.

“Something you can feel?”

“The ground…and you.” 

“And me what?”

“Rubbing my arm.”

“Good,” Rachel praised as Chloe’s breathing started to slow back down to normal. She continues running her hand along Chloe’s arm, trying to sooth the shaking that was still ghosting over the other girl’s body. “I’m right here,”

Chloe's blue eyes meet Rachel’s hazel ones, looking on as if she was unsure whether or not she wanted to trust the girl before her. 

“I’m not going anywhere, not unless you want me to.” Rachel offered in a soft, firm voice. She immediately feels Chloe’s hand grip the end of her blue flannel shirt, as if the offer to leave wasn’t by her choice.

“Would…you stay?”

“Of course,”

The next few minutes are clouded by silence. Chloe soon drops Rachel’s gaze in favor of looking at the dirt ground, her embarrassment at her recent attack clear. Rachel watches the conflicting emotions pass over Chloe’s eyes, as if she was trying to figure out the proper way to respond to Rachel comforting her. 

“I’m sor-“

“Don’t” Rachel stops her, a relieved smile crossing her face when Chloe’s eyes meet hers again, “You have nothing to apologize for, this has been a…surprisingly intense day.”

“Yeah…no shit.” Chloe grumbled, a hint of exhaustion in her voice.

“Hey, let’s get something to eat and try to end this on a much higher note.” Rachel offers as she stands up, pulling Chloe with her. “My treat.”

________________________________________________

“You’re such a hipster.” Chloe snorts when Rachel places the food on the small table outside of the local sandwich shop.

“Excuse me?”

“Only hipsters find this place,” Chloe continues to chuckle. Rachel fakes an exaggerated gasp before placing Chloe’s sandwich before her.

“I buy you dinner and you insult me? This how you treat all the ladies on the first date?”

Chloe almost chokes on her soda, but somehow manages a rebuttal regardless, “If I’d known this was a date I wouldn’t have worn my stolen Firewalk shirt and ole da cheap beer.”

“I’m make my intentions far more clear next time.”

_This is so much better_ Rachel thinks as the two eat and tease each other. Chloe’s in the middle of making fun of Rachel’s sensible veggie chips (which Chloe had eaten half of) when her expression falls suddenly, looking at something over Rachel’s shoulder.

“Holy shit.”

Curious Rachel turns her head to see what Chloe was referring too.

The entire world seems to stop when smoke whirls up to the sky, bright orange flames devouring the trees and surrounding brush. The fire clearly started at the park where Chloe and Rachel had been…but.

_I didn’t do that._ Rachel thought as she watched the smoke curl. _But if I didn’t…who did?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to thank everyone who commented last chapter, I'm so thrilled to be writing this and am glad others are enjoy reading. 
> 
> The beginning I sped through a little because Rachel hasn't really changed anything until a little later.
> 
> Also I really wanted to add my version of the deleted audio scene from episode 1. I read A LOT of poetry the last few days to find a poem that would be Chloe's favorite.


	3. I Will Be True

_“Not wond'ring at the present, nor the past,_  
_For thy records, and what we see doth lie,  
_ _Made more or less by thy continual haste:  
_ _This I do vow and this shall ever be:  
_ _I will be true despite thy scythe and thee.”_

_-William Shakespeare, Sonnet 123_

 

The silence of Principal Well’s office was more annoying the second time. Rachel sat patiently with her father and mother standing on either side of her as they waiting for Chloe and her mom to arrive. The ticking of the clock seems so much louder in the empty room as Mr. Amber taps his foot on the ground impatiently. He checks his watch several times, clearly frustrated with being left waiting for the other party to arrive. 

Promptness, something her father lived by. Rachel couldn’t remember a time he was ever late for anything, and if he was late it was usually for some sort of tactical reason. Like life was a courtroom and he knew how to play all the witnesses. 

Meanwhile Rachel sits silently, trying to figure out why the forest fire had still happened.

_I don’t get it,_ Rachel thought to herself as they waited, _I didn’t start the fire this time…so why did the damn park go whoosh again?…Things…were different yesterday. They were better. What are we supposed to do now?_

_Can some things really not change. Is this how fate works?_ _It’d be really fucking amazing if someone could explain this time travel shit to me. Is it too late for a Doctor Who binge session?_

The door opens and Chloe and her mom come into the office, Mrs. Price apologizing profusely for their lateness. Rachel glances over at the other girl as she takes her seat. 

_Did…she take a shower?_ It’s sounds so much ruder in her head, but it’s hard not to notice that the smell of cigarettes isn’t present on the girl and that her strawberry blonde hair is still damp, giving it a slightly darker appearance. Her clothes were changed too. _I’m…strangely happy about that._

Rachel wonders if she really has to listen to Well’s speech again as he goes on, clearly digging into Chloe. Which Rachel felt was unnecessary the first time. Or at least, why did Wells have them both here if he just wanted to rip into Chloe for cutting school yesterday. 

The accusation of Chloe bullying Nathan hits a little harder this time around. Chloe wasn’t a fucking bully, she wasn’t a fucking sociopath like he was. Rachel curses Nathan and Victoria in her head, why they felt the need to team up on Chloe was ridiculous.

“Chloe wasn't bullying Nathan.” Rachel speaks up, tired of listening to Wells blame Chloe for everything. It wasn’t fair. And while Chloe wasn’t innocent in all the charges, she didn’t deserve having more pile up just because Wells had it out for her for some reason.

“Excuse me, Miss Amber?”

“Rachel,” She hears her father’s voice warning as she raises her head to meet Wells challenging look. 

“Chloe didn’t bully Nathan, there were plenty of other students who saw what happened.Did you happen to ask them or were Victoria and Nathan’s claims all that mattered?”

“Rachel!” Her father’s voice got louder, the warning in his tone very clear now. The bark sounded just as shocked as it was frustrated. Rachel sees her mother shift out of her perennial vision, clearly surprised at Rachel’s defense of Chloe and her husband’s outburst as their daughter rebelled to protect her friend.

“I’m sorry,” Her father starts as he turns to Wells, “I don’t know what’s gotten into her.”

Rachel feels a firm hand on her shoulder, which she is quick to brush off. There was no way in hell she was going to let Chloe get expelled this time. Fuck _The Tempest_. Principal Wells gives Rachel a look, seeming to think about how he wanted to proceed now that Rachel had derailed his plan to push everything onto Chloe.

“Miss. Amber, if you feel you want to say something, now would be a good time.”

“I already did,” Rachel keeps her voice firm, leaving no room for Wells to argue, “Chloe never bullied Nathan Prescott. And yeah, we skipped together yesterday, but it was my idea. I was having a bad day and skipped to blow off steam. Chloe came with me because she was worried I’d get hurt.”

Everyone’s eyes are on Rachel now, Rachel sees Chloe shift out of her perennial vision. _Please, for once don’t try to protect me._ “I’m not going to sit here and let Chloe take the blame for me.”

Chloe looks over at Rachel who meets her gaze with a serious stare. Practically begging her with her eyes to just stay quiet. Rachel watches Chloe’s facial expression change, the shocked look forming into a slight frown.

“It’s not like she kidnapped me,” Chloe spoke up, although her voice was soft. “We were in it together.”

There’s a moment of silence as Wells tries to process the information. He seems to be thinking of how far he wants to thrown his foot down on the two. Rachel waits, trying not to hold her breath. Finally Wells turns to her.

“Is what you’re telling me the truth Miss. Amber?” 

“Yes,” Rachel doesn’t hesitate she will not let Chloe take the fall for this. Wells sighs as if Rachel ruined his entire plan. 

“Then I’m afraid Miss Amber that I have grounds to punish you for this infraction. This being the first time in no way reduces it’s severity. But we will not be suspending you at this time. You will no longer be my administrative assistant first period. And you will no longer be involved in Blackwell’s production of _The Tempest_.”

“Understood.” Rachel nods immediately, not giving Chloe a proper chance to defend her. She wants Chloe to know it’s fine, the play doesn’t mean so much to Rachel right now. Wells turns to Chloe, glaring her way as he does.

“As for you Miss Price, you are all to familiar with the disciplinary system. Based on your attitude and you constant disregard for this academy or it’s students I have grounds to suspend you. Which would include a revoking of your scholarship.”

“No,” Joyce sighs as she raises a hand to cover her mouth, clearing stressed by the idea that Chloe could loose her scholarship.

“This school has forgiving of your behavior for the last year Miss Price. This decision is based solely on your actions. You will be suspended for the remainder of the school year. However I will not revoke your scholarship at this time.” Principal Wells leans forward on his desk, seems displeased with his own decision. “ _If_ you complete all the necessary work to pass all your current classes. If you manage to pass all your classes, we’ll talk about how you will go about rededicating yourself as a Blackwell citizen in the fall. I’m hoping you will use your time away to _get your act together_ without distractions. This is your final chance Miss Price, failure to comply will result in your immediate expulsion from this academy. Do I make myself clear?”

“Thank you Principal Wells,” Joyce offers politely, “Chloe will be sure to take this chance seriously.”

Principal Wells grunts some form of response before he dismisses the occupants of his office. Mr. and Mrs. Amber storm out first, Rachel hears her father call her, clearly annoyed with her behavior while her mother continues to follow silently behind him. Rachel hangs back for a second so her and Chloe’s paths cross on their way out.

“Meet me in the junkyard later?” Rachel whispers as she and Chloe pass through the door.

“Of course,” Chloe whispers back before the two part to regroup with their respected parties. Joyce takes a moment to walk over to the Ambers.

“I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself. I’m Joyce.”

“Mrs. Price.” James greets curtly while Rose reaches forward to accept Joyce’s handshake.

“I’m Rose and this is James. I’m sorry we had to meet like this.” Rose offers looking between the two girls. 

“I’m sure for you this is an unusual occurrence.” Joyce offers sparing a glance over at Chloe, who had decided to keep her space from the adults. Her entire posture screamed someone who wanted the Earth to swallow her up. She kept fidgeting and looked on like a puppy who knew they were going to be yelled at. Rachel felt bad looking on, she’s sure Chloe’s going to get an earful from her mom…oh god, and this was the day her soon-to-be step-douche announced his plan to move in. 

_Shit I forgot about that._ Rachel thought.

“We really should be going,” James cuts in, extending his arm to motion for Rachel to come along. Rachel follows after a moment sparing one last glance at her friend before following her parents out the doors and towards the parking lot.

James remains quiet, not saying a word the entire ride home. As soon as they get home he heads for his office, shutting the door behind him. Rose walks up and puts a hand on Rachel’s shoulder, leading her to the kitchen.

“So, is Chloe the friend who’s sweatshirt you needed me to wash?” Rose asks as she goes to start the coffee machine. Rachel sits herself at the kitchen table watching her mom move about the kitchen.

“Yes.” 

“You know, I’ve heard many of the other parents talk about her and her mother. Mrs. Rogers had a lot to say. Apparently her daughter and Chloe used to be in the same chemistry class. Made it sound like Chloe was an absolute monstrous child. But meeting her today, I don’t think they have any idea what their talking about.” Rose offered as she sat across from Rachel. “She’s had it pretty rough these last two years I hear. It’s even worse when you live in a small town and everyone’s talking about it. I understand how that can make someone act out. I don’t think she’s a bad kid though.”

Rachel looks at her mom as she speaks, not quiet sure what to say.

“She’s not.” Rachel offers, she knows Chloe’s not a bad person. Anyone who really took the time to know Chloe knows she’s got a heart of gold.

“That was very interesting, you know I don’t think I’ve ever seen you stand up for someone like you did for Chloe back there.” Rose points out, “You even gave up your part in the school play. You were so excited about that too.”

“It’s just a play.” Rachel offered with a shrug of her shoulders, “Principal Wells was coming down really hard on her. It wasn’t fair.”

“I didn’t really like that either. But I don’t think Chloe’s reinstatement come Fall will be that hard. She’s at Blackwell on a scholarship for a reason. The girl’s not dumb.” Rose offered a smile, “She just doesn’t care. Maybe having you around will help her. She needs something to work towards. All that energy she’s not using on her education is being spent getting into trouble.”

Rachel smiled and looked down to her hands that are folded on the table. Sure, her mom was probably thinking of Chloe as more of a charity case, but Rachel did want to work to get Chloe to start caring about things again. She’s glad she stood up for Chloe back at Principal Well’s office. She glad Chloe has a chance to finish high school. And then they could leave, for real, together.

As soon as they start talking about running away together.

Shit, she forgot that detail. They haven’t even begun to talk about that.

“I did manage to get the blood out of that sweatshirt. I put in on your bed. You can return it to Chloe next time you see her.”

Rachel smiles and jumps up, moving around the table to wrap her arms around her mom in a quick hug before moving to go up the stairs. “Thanks mom!” 

____________________________________________

Rachel comes up to the Junkyard thirty minutes later, catching sight of Chloe doing something with the rusty old pick up truck. She can’t help the smile that spreads on her face when she sees the girl hard at work leaning over the large metal contraption. After a moment, Rachel walks up looking over Chloe’s arm to see what she’s doing.

“Whatcha doing?” Rachel asks and watches as Chloe jumps, slamming the back of her head into the hood of the truck.

“FUCK”

“Are you OK?” Rachel immediately drops the duffel bag she was carrying, hands flying up to Chloe’s head, shifting through strawberry blonde hair as she tries to see if there is a bump forming on the affected area.

“Dude, wear a bell or something,” Chloe grumbles as she tries to stand back up to full height, unable to due to Rachel’s careful inspection of her head. Rachel’s hands sweep through her hair slowly, preventing Chloe from moving until Rachel was satisfied that there wasn’t a bump from where she had hit herself. “Uhm…”

Rachel looks up to see that in the process of trying to figure out of Chloe was injured, she had pulled their faces pretty close together. Chloe’s face takes on a red tone as the internal gay panic flashes behind blue eyes.

_Chloe smells like…lavender?_ Rachel found herself thinking as she slowly removed her hands from the other girl’s head with a smile. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Chloe stands up straight, blinking a few times before the color of her face returns to normal. Rachel looks back over to the truck.

“What were you doing?” Rachel asked again, hand raising up to tuck her hair back behind her ear as Chloe flashed a shy smile.

“Uh, trying to see if I could get this dinosaur running again.” Chloe gestured to the engine with oil-stained hands. “It defiantly could use a little TLC…or a lot of. I also probably need real tools.”

Rachel’s eyes sweep over the components of the car, everything is rusty, old, and patched together half-heartedly. The newest component is a box-shaped thing on one side. 

“I bet you could get it running,” Rachel encouraged lightly, swinging her hip into Chloe’s playfully, “I’ll help you.”

“How much do you know about the inner workings of a 1982 Ford F-series engine?”

“Absolutely nothing!” Rachel responded cheerfully, giving Chloe a mock salute that had Chloe shaking her head and laughing.

“Perfect.” Chloe took a few steps away from the engine and looked it over. “This thing needs all the help it can get. We’re probably going to need real tools. I might be able to sneak my dad’s old box from my garage…you know, whenever I feel like going home to steal them.”

Rachel looked down at the notion of Chloe not going home. She had that tone in her voice that told Rachel something was bothering her. 

“I’ll go with you, if you want.” Rachel offered in a soft voice. Chloe looked up at her, as if trying to figure out if Rachel was lying or trying to trick her.

“I’ll hold you to that, Amber.” Chloe offers with a smirk, “Could always use a buffer.”

“Anytime, Priceless.”

“What’s in the bag?” Chloe asks suddenly and Rachel snaps her head up to meet her gaze.

“Huh?”

Chloe gestures over to the duffle bag Rachel had tossed on the ground. 

“Oh! It’s for you. Since you didn’t want to go home I brought you a little survival kit.”

“Like Shiloh?”

“Huh?”

Chloe shakes her head, “Never read that? It’s a book they make everyone read in elementary school about a boy who steals an abused dog and hides him from his parents and shit? He brings the dog food and whatever when his parents aren’t looking?”

“I did find you in an old mill and save you from scumbags.” Rachel muses as Chloe snorts. “Do I get to keep my stray?”

Chloe laughs again and closes the hood of the truck with a hollow rusted bang. “I’m done messing with the engine, maybe the inside can be spruced up a bit.”

They spent the next half hour exploring the junkyard finding things that could be used to cover the seats and such of the truck. Rachel tugs a rainbow colored towel from the window of a locked car. Her nose immediately wrinkles when she brings it slightly closer to her face, getting a hit of salty beach and hot trash. Chloe laughs at the face Rachel makes as she folds the towel and places it under her arm.

“I don’t know what you expect, everything here is going to smell like trash.”

“There are different degrees of smelling like trash.” Rachel stated matter of factly as she watched Chloe search through another pile, picking up an old Two Whales placemat, a almost remorseful look cross her face before she sets it aside and keeps digging. “Besides other then the smell, no holes, no tears, it’s in shockingly good shape.”

“Put it in the truck bed.” Chloe offers, “No point wasting it.”

Chloe ends up finding an old welcome matt laying on the ground a few yards away.

“What do you think? It’ll cover that hole nicely.”

“Welcoming,” Rachel smiled as she walked over. Stopping in her tracks when a sharp pain shoots through her temple.

_“Rachel!” Rachel opens her eyes to see a grey world painted around her. Everything seemed inky and watery, as if it was being painted as she stood there. She sees a 19 year old Chloe rush through the junkyard to the spot where Chloe had just picked up the welcome mat._

_“Chloe slow down!” Rachel watches a shorter brunette run up behind her. “Wait for me!”_

_“I know exactly where I’m going.” Came the breathless reply as Chloe stops and looks around at the dirt. Knocking the welcome mat and several other pieces of trash out of the way “Look, this is it. This is it!”_

_This is what? Rachel though as she watched Chloe drop to her knees and start digging in the dirt._

_“Are you gonna help me Max?!”_

_Max? Rachel looks over to the short brunette again, Max…Caulfield? Chloe’s childhood friend Max Caulfield? What’s going on?_

_Rachel watches the two dig in the earth until Max motions for Chloe to stop._

_“Chloe stop…look.”_

_Rachel takes a step forward trying to see over Max’s head to see what they’re looking at. She catches a glimpse of something blue in the hole that the two had made._

_Rachel doesn’t hear what else is said as she stares at the ghostly remains of herself in the ditch. Her flannel and earring the only two things that seem to be in color. Her face looks strange, her neck at a weird angle, her skin looked thin against her bones._

_Rachel feels sick as she hears Chloe’s voice again._

_“I loved her so much.”_

_No._

“Rachel!” Chloe’s voice is louder as she feels someone catch her as her knees slam into the dirt. “Hey, are you OK? Rachel?”

Everything suddenly seems too bright, the scent of lavender encircles her as she feels someone rub her back. Blinking as the dizziness clears from her vision, Rachel finds herself in Chloe’s arms. The remainder of the oil slicked on Chloe’s hands smear faint marks across her arm.

“Chloe?”

“Are-are you OK?” Chloe asks clearly shaken by Rachel sudden collapse. 

“Y-yeah,” Rachel slowly pushed away slightly to took into Chloe’s concerned blue eyes. “Just a…really bad headache all of a sudden.”

“Maybe that towel was laced with something,” Chloe offers in a quiet voice, almost glaring over at the object forgotten and discarded a few feet away. “Do you need water or something?”

“I’m OK.” Rachel assured smiling as she felt Chloe’s hand move up and down her arm. “You really know how to sweep a girl off her feet Priceless.”

Chloe’s hand stops moving and a pink blush covers her face. Rachel grins wider, shuffling closer and adjusting herself so she was more comfortably in Chloe’s arms.

“Sure know how to knock-em-dead.” 

“You’re defiantly feeling better.” Chloe shakes her head, not moving from their now comfortable spot in the junkyard.

_A few feet from where I saw my dead body buried_. The though makes Rachel feel sick. She presses her forehead to Chloe’s shoulder, breathing in the clean scent of her black and white hoodie tainted with oil.

“Hey, maybe we should get out of the sun?” Chloe asked after a second, clearly still concerned about Rachel. Rachel smiled and moved to get up as Chloe did the same.

Deciding the truck was the best source of shade, Chloe made quick work of covering the seats with a pirate flag she found hanging off a boat and covered the hole in the floor with the welcome mat. It felt nice to be back in the pickup, even if it was in it’s early days. Chloe slides behind the driver seat moving to take out the broken light.

“Feeling better?” Chloe asks as she twists the new blue light in place. Rachel smiles as Chloe hits the light to turn it on for a second, smiling like a child as the light proved to work.

“Much.”

Chloe smiles and leans back on the newly covered seats, resting a hand on the old steering wheel. 

“Bet this thing drives like a shopping cart.” Chloe mused, a distant look in her face as she looked out the windshield.

“How cool would it be though, to just drive away.” Rachel offered. A small smile tugged at Chloe’s lips.

“Or drive right off a cliff.” Chloe’s almost beaming when she looks over to Rachel’s side, “Thelma and Louise style.”

“That’s dark.”

“Too dark?”

“Perfect dark.”

The two sit in a comfortable silence for a few moments. Rachel watches as the smile slowly slips from Chloe’s face, a distant look overtaking her as she slips deeper in her thoughts. 

“You OK there space cadet?” Rachel asks, trying to keep the mood light as Chloe looks over to her. “You said you didn’t want to go home?”

“Yeah, dick-tator David announced his plans to move in this morning.” Chloe spoke softly, leaning impossibly back into the seat. “Apparently my mom thinks she needs him around to help handle me.”

“That’s bullshit.” Rachel snorts, repeating the phrase from her conversation with Chloe on the train. Chloe just shrugged, not really giving any kind of response to Rachel’s outburst. Rachel frowns, seeing the girl in a funk and not being able to do anything about it. 

“You’re the only one who seems to think so.” Chloe murmured. “For now. I’m sure I’ll do something stupid to change your mind about that.”

Rachel sighed, thinking for a moment before doing the only thing she could think of to do. Shove Chloe in the shoulder, pushing her hard enough to have the punk looking back at her in surprise.

“Then they’re all wrong.” Rachel insisted, her voice gone louder, Chloe looks startled by her words, staring like a deer in the headlights. “You’re the real deal, Chloe. You’re not fake like everyone at Blackwell. You’re smart…and kind…and you’re the realist person I know.”

Chloe looks completely taken off guard by Rachel’s words, sitting still for a moment trying to process them.

“I have a report card from Blackwell that would prove you wrong on that first one.”

“Chloe Price,” Rachel sighed, “You conned Victoria into writing ‘fuck you’ on her Chemistry homework. I highly doubt memorizing the periodic table would be considered anything less then brilliant.”

Chloe turned pink at the complement causing Rachel to press on.

“I’ve seen you talk to the underclassmen, none of them are afraid of you. Most of them think you’re pretty cool. I’ve never seen you bully anyone so…kind, check.”

Chloe rubs the back of her neck, no longer looking in Rachel’s direction. Rachel smiles, considering this a victory. Rachel thinks for a second, she had this second chance, could she use it to…change other things too?

“Hey Chloe?” Chloe hums in acknowledgment, “That thing, with my dad…I need to know what’s going on. Will you…help me?”

Chloe turns back to Rachel, “What do you need me to do?”

Rachel thinks for a second, “Help me break into his office. I’m sure if he’s talking to this woman, he’s got to have a way to contact her or a number or something about how to find her.”

“What, you buttering me up so you can get me to help you get dirt on your dad?” Chloe asks with a smirk that causes Rachel to tilt her head and smile.

“What I said was 100% true. I stand by my statements of how amazingly smart and kind Chloe Price is even if she doesn’t think so.” Rachel insists, “As for my dad, we can break in tonight while my parents are at the play. They want to show face and look good so they’ll be there. I can get into my dad’s office and we can look around.”

“If you can get into your dad’s office what do you need me for?”

“You’re excellent company and pretty face.”

“Shut up,” Chloe rolls her eyes looking away from the grinning blonde. Chloe’s phone starts to vibrate in her pocket. Rachel watches as the blonde retrieves her phone, looking at the ID for a second before frowning and picking up. “Yeah?”

“ _Price, It’s Frank”_

_Shit I forgot about him_ Rachel curses the man out in her head as she listens to Chloe on the phone. Able to hear the other man as they spoke.

“Oh, Hey Frank, what’s up?”

_“Just..checking in to see how you’re doing.”_

“Really?” Chloe clearly doesn’t believe that line, making a face at the comment.

_“No…Listen we’ve got some business to discuss. Where can we meet?”_

“What about?” Chloe glances at Rachel, who looks back with a concerned look. She never really…listened to how Frank and Chloe talked. It was…weird. It’s strange to think the two were even that friendly before shit went down. Again, something Rachel had fucked up. “Is this about the money I owe you?”

_“No it’s not-wait do you have it?”_

“Don’t you have richer clients to harass?”

_“You’re a pain in my ass, Price.”_ Frank sighs on the other side. His voice sounding annoyed but still holding a hint of…fondness? God Rachel felt uncomfortable listening to it. The idea of Frank being fond of Chloe just…made everything around her look red and frustrated her to no end. Chloe was hers, and she sure as well wasn’t going to have Frank do anything to her.

Jesus is this how Chloe would feel if she knew? Knew in the future what Rachel had done? 

_“I got a job for you.”_ Frank’s voice again.

“Ok…”

_“…Where. Are. You?”_

“Uh, At the junkyard, north of town?”

_“The junkyard? Perfect. I’ll be there in a bit.”_ Frank’s eager voice sounds before there’s a dial tone at the other end.

Fuck, Rachel didn’t want to be here when Frank came. Rachel waited until Chloe had pocketed her phone before turning back to her.

“Going to meet up with ya boss?”

“Please” Chloe snorts, “He’s not my boss.”

“Well, I’d love to stay and watch you go about your criminal activities, but I better go empty my locker for Victoria. Meet me at the school later and we can do a little breaking and entering?”

“Hell yeah.” Chloe agreed as Rachel moved from the truck, stopping for a second as she stepped out.

“Be careful.” Rachel offered with a concerned look on her face. Chloe looks at her surprised for a second before answering.

“Yeah, always. Don’t worry, Frank’s cool.”

_He’s a pedophile_. Rachel wants to say, she wants to expose Frank right there and now, but she can’t. She has no proof and she’s only known Chloe for a day, there was a chance Chloe wouldn’t believe her. Smiling at Chloe, she resumes walking the familiar path through the junkyard and back towards Blackwell.

____________________________________________

Rachel passes Steph on her way to her locker, Steph greets her with her usual smile before her face falls and she looks to her phone.

She hears the stage manager curse before starting towards the exit, a clear signal that Chloe had already finished her job for Frank. Rachel looked on as Dana and Hayden got ready for the play, both looking fierce in their costumes and makeup.

“Hey Rachel!” Dana calls as she spots the blonde’s reflection in the large vanity mirror.

“Hey girl.” Rachel smiles and makes her way over, “Ready for the show?”

“Yeah, well sort of,” Dana looks away for a minute, “It defiantly won’t be the same with Victoria as Prospera.”

“Sorry,” Rachel felt herself apologizing, “I know I kinda screwed up, but I didn’t want Chloe to take all the blame for us skipping.”

“Hey, don’t stress.” Dana says with a smile, “Wells always goes down hard on the scholarship kids, it’s totally unfair. I defiantly won’t hold it against you for sticking up for them.”

Rachel smiles as a thought crosses her mind, Dana had been going to Blackwell since she was a Freshman, maybe…

“Hey Dana, did you know Chloe Freshman year?”

“Not really, we were in the same Chemistry Class. She was partnered with Marissa Rogers I think.” Dana thought for a moment, “Marissa used to bully her constantly because of her clothes and stuff. Some kids can get away without anyone knowing they’re a scholarship kid, but Chloe was kinda screwed, it was pretty obvious. Anyway I think there was an incident with a bunsen burner? Marissa left Blackwell after that and Chloe’s dad died that same year so…”

“I think I’ve heard my mom mention a Mrs. Rogers,” Rachel mused, remembering her mom saying something about it earlier.

“Yeah, Marissa made a big thing of it, said Chloe turned her bunsen burner up on purpose to hurt her.” Dana explained, “I can’t really see her doing it…OH she also helped me open my locker once, I couldn’t get the combo to work so Chloe picked the lock. Kinda, she did that James Bond thing where you put your ear to the door and listen for the tumblers?”

“Sounds like something she’d do.” Rachel laughed, “I should let you finish getting ready. Break a leg.”

“Thanks Rach!” Dana called back as Rachel made her way to her locker and emptied the contents of it.

She passes Victoria on her way out, dressed in the Prospera costume and ready to fill Rachel’s role. She slips out of the tent and heads over to the dorms to meet up with Chloe. She spots her exiting the dorm, her shirt changed into one of the ones Rachel had brought to her, a navy beanie on her head.

“You changed!” Chloe jumps at the sudden voice,

“Dude, seriously, wear a bell.” Chloe shoves her phone back in her pocket. A look of distraught crossing her face. “And yeah, I had a crap ton of old oil on it, so I just…switched.”

“You look damn good in my clothes Price.” Rachel praises running her eyes up and down the girl before her. Chloe averts her gaze, rubbing her shoulder.

“So, you’re place?”

“Yup, this way,” Rachel smiled, wrapping a hand around Chloe’s wrist and leading her off campus. The sun is still setting and Rachel watches as the different tones of light reflect of Chloe’s hair and face.

“You’re doing it again.”

“What again?” Rachel asks, tilting her head to the side as she sees Chloe blush under her gaze.

“The look. You gave me the same one when I walked you home from the Firewalk concert.”

“Maybe I like looking at you.” Rachel defended, not making an effort to avert her gaze, “And I like you.”

Chloe rubs the back of her neck again, “I like you too.”

Rachel beams and the second Chloe glances at her from the corner of her eye, she turns her head and the blush on her face gets darker.

“Stop that-“

“Make me.” Rachel challenged as they continued walking, hands intertwining as if on their own accord. Rachel looks over to see the tips of the flames of the wildfire still burning. “That’s terrifying.”

_Because I don’t know how it happened_.

“The fire?” Chloe looked over at the flames as the sky grew darker. “Yeah, it kinda is…I saw the old mill burned down. While in Frank’s RV, he got an email from Damon.”

“Snooping through your drug dealer’s shit?” Rachel asked trying to ignore the sick feeling in her gut at the news of Chloe actually being inside the RV with Frank…alone..completely unsupervised. Knowing how Frank liked girls half his age…

“Probably not going to be my drug dealer anymore.” Chloe started, “I didn’t get the money he wanted me to get from Drew. Drew was stealing money from Damon because his dad lost his job. Maybe not the best reason to steal money from a psycho, but I get why he was doing it…I mean I can’t really judge, I stole two-hundred dollars from that dickbag T-shirt dude.”

“And a shirt.” Rachel added with a smirk.

“Yeah, yeah, and a shirt. I ended up giving the money to my mom, so that maybe she wouldn’t have to sell her engagement ring.”

“That was very sweet of you.” Rachel’s voice is soft and she can see Chloe rubbing her shoulder from the corner of her eye. “You’re your own kind of hero Chloe Price.”

“I think you’re high right now, I’m no hero.”

“Like Robin Hood.” Rachel continues, “Stealing from the dicks and giving to the…well-“

“Poor, you can say it.” Chloe insisted with a humorless laugh, “I’m probably the cheapest thing you’ve ever brought home.”

“Quite the opposite, _Priceless._ ” Rachel emphasized the nickname with a tug on Chloe’s hand, “You would be the most valuable thing I’ve brought home.”

Chloe murmurs something that Rachel doesn’t catch.

“What was that?”

“Are you always this…forward?” 

Rachel’s expression drops, concerned that maybe she had been moving too fast. Her relationship with Chloe was fast moving the first time as well…but she has upped her flirting game, and maybe that was throwing Chloe off a bit.

“Is that bad?” Rachel asks, not making eye contact with the strawberry blonde next to her. “I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“It’s…not that.” Rachel looks back at the girl. “How do I know you’re not just messing with me?”

“What can I do to convince you that I’m being honest?” Rachel asks as she stops the pair, turning to face Chloe. Rachel watches the emotions flash across the punk’s face. The longing, the uncertainty, the fear. 

“I…don’t know…how do you convince someone that you won’t just…leave?”

“If I ever left Arcadia Bay, I’d want you to come with me.”

“Really?”

“We’d leave the day of graduation, after watching Principal Wells choke on his own pride as he hands you your diploma. We’d sneak to your truck that we’ve fixed up and loaded with the few possessions we care about. And we’d head off to wherever you want to go.” Rachel illustrated, reaching over to take Chloe’s other hand in her own. She watches Chloe stare into her eyes as if trying to read her, trying to see the trick in her words. Rachel means every one. LA doesn’t mean shit to her if Chloe isn’t with her. She’d go to fucking Antartica if that’s where Chloe wanted to be. “But, If I have to work every day to prove to you that my feelings for you are true, Chloe Price, then that’s what I’ll do.”

Chloe starts to fidget as a blush spreads across her face and neck, she seems a little lost without having her hands free to fiddle with her shirt or beanie or anything else Rachel had seen her do when she was nervous. Rachel subconsciously tugs the taller girl closer, watching as Chloe held her gaze, searching to see if Rachel was lying. Bright blue eyes that, as cliche as it was, reminded Rachel of every gemstone she could think of. Soon Rachel can see the guard dropping from Chloe’s eyes, the gentle look she’s giving her open and trusting for the first time since she rewound time, it’s a warm familiar look that Rachel had grown to love so much.

“…I really want to kiss you…” Rachel murmured before she could catch herself. She feels her face grow hot at the slip. Chloe looks at her with wide eyes for a second before her face takes on a much more curious look.

“Are you blushing?”

“No!” too fast, “Sh-shut up!”

Rachel tries to hide her face in Chloe’s shoulder, feeling her ears grow warm when Chloe’s shoulders shake with a laugh.

“So-sorry, it’s just…” Chloe shakes her head, untangling one of her hands from Rachel’s near death grip before brushing it gently against Rachel’s shoulder, “H-hey, look at me.”

Rachel huffs, feeling her face is still warm when she pulls away slowly and angling her head up to the taller girl. She’s shocked at the feeling on Chloe’s hand tangling in her hair a moment before her lips press lightly to Rachel’s. It’s soft and innocent and Rachel wastes no time melting into it, her now free hand moving up to Chloe’s neck as she kisses back. Chloe’s lips are warm against hers, the feeling so ghostly familiar as Rachel tries to pull the girl impossibly closer. 

Rachel’s hit with just how much she’s missed this, Chloe’s hand in her hair, gently scratching against her scalp and running through blonde locks. The feel of Chloe against her, enveloping her in the familiar feeling of safety. The smell of lavender and oil is stronger, the taste of Chloe’s lips…everything was…perfect.

The air around them seems colder, a drop of cold water hits Rachel in the face, followed by another, and soon many more. Chloe pulls away as it starts to downpour, looking at Rachel for a moment in a stupefied state before realization hit her.

“Shit, come on!” Rachel pulls Chloe along, making a break for the house as the rain comes down hard. It’s pouring around them but Rachel finds herself laughing as they run, soon Chloe’s laughter joins her as they run to the Amber house.

____________________________________________

Rachel opens the door to her home slowly as her and Chloe sneak in. Her parents left for the show. The house is lit by a few choice lights her parents left on. As soon as she’s sure the coast is clear, she tugs Chloe into the house and closes the door behind her. 

“I’ll grab some towels.” Rachel offers as she watches Chloe take off her beanie by the front door and ring it out on the porch. Rachel heads upstairs where their laundry room is located, sure that her mom had clean towels hidden there. She makes a stop in her room to grab Chloe some dry clothes. She grabs a T-shirt before stopping.

Fuck, Chloe wasn’t going to fit in her jeans…well maybe but the length wouldn’t be right. Rachel was average height but Chloe defiantly wore a tall. Rachel thought for a moment before sneaking opening one of her drawers, pulling out a pair of sweatpants that she knew were to big on her. They would have to do, and at least Chloe would be comfortable in them. Rachel headed back downstairs and handed Chloe the pile as Chloe dripped water in the entryway.

“Don’t laugh,” Chloe warns as she sees Rachel’s grin, moving closer to brush some of the wet hair out of Rachel’s face before taking the pile. “You’re dripping water too.”

“Yeah yeah. Bathroom’s over there, I’ll change and meet you back down here.”

“Got it,” Chloe nodded as she moved in the direction Rachel directed as Rachel spun around to head back to her room. Rachel stripped of her wet clothing and slipped on a dry pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt before returning back down the stairs, dropping off her wet clothes in the laundry room. She sees Chloe walk over and moves to take the pile of wet clothes folded in her arms. Rachel heads back up stairs to add them to the wet clothes pile in the laundry room before returning down the stairs again.

“Dude, you have too much energy.” Chloe points out with a chuckle as Rachel jumps down the last few steps.

“Come on,” Rachel tugs the other girl to the door, typing in the code into the security system and watching the light turn from red to green.

“He uses your birthday?” Chloe asks suddenly with a snort. Rachel stops short and looks at the girl in surprise. She’s sure she didn’t tell Chloe that yet. 

“How did you know that was my birthday?” 

Confusion crosses Chloe’s face, she thinks for a minute, “I’m…not sure how I knew that.”

“Huh,” Rachel murmured as she opened the door and the two stepped through. Rachel’s never been in her father’s office, it was organized chaos in it’s own way. Files and maps and documents scattered about. 

“Wow,” Rachel turns to see Chloe standing in front of a map of Arcadia Bay, several people’s mugshots and string pinned to various places. Including Frank’s and several other familiar looking faces from the Old Mill “You’re dad’s serious about going after Merrick.” 

“Yeah well, eliminating drug dealers is kinda his thing.” Rachel offered, she settled herself in front of his computer, hitting the space bar as the screen lit up. “My dad has case files all over the place.”

Rachel hears the opening of a cabinet filed by Chloe’s voice, “Um…I know your dad’s the DA and all, but is he really supposed to have evidence in his office?”

Rachel picks her head up and looks in Chloe’s direction as she gestures to the inside of one of the drawers in the metal filing cabinet. 

“I…don’t think that’s part of the job description.”

“Dude, this is from a recent Damon Merrick investigation.” Chloe pointed out lifting a bagged glove and gesturing to the file pinned on the wall. “A recent…murder investigation.”

_What the hell is dad involved in?_ Rachel thought as she watched Chloe’s shoulders drop as she turns to Rachel,

“I suddenly wish I gave him the money.” Chloe states as she steps away from the cabinet without closing it, as if the contents would jump out at her. 

“Hey, we’ll figure it out.” Rachel offered to the other girl, “I won’t let him hurt you.”

Chloe snorts at that, “All five feet of you is going to stop Damon Merrick from ripping my throat out?”

“Jerk, I’m average height.” 

“How about we avoid Damon Merrick all together?” Chloe suggests setting the glove back into the cabinet. Rachel nods and goes back to looking through the computer before turning to the files on the desk. She tugs at the drawers looking at the contents of each one until she reaches a locked one.

“Hey, this one’s locked, think you can pick the lock?” 

“I could, but I don’t have anything to pick it with.” Chloe replies walking over, “Maybe he hid the key somewhere.”

Chloe moves the the large bookshelf, picking up various nicknacks and looking them over when Rachel checked the drawers behind the desk. She watches Chloe reach up for the #1 Dad trophy she had given her dad a few years back for Father’s Day. Something rattles inside the trophy and Chloe turns it upside down to see the secret compartment at the base. Opening it, she retrieves the silver key from inside.

“Got it!” Chloe announced with a grin, turning back to Rachel, flashing the key in her hand. “Let’s see what’s in drawer number one.”

Chloe kneels by the drawer and puts the key in, twisting it and hearing the click of drawer unlocking. Chloe pulls the drawer open, revealing a cardboard shoebox inside.

“That doesn’t look shady,” Chloe snorts as she moves the box to the top of the desk, taking off the lid and looking through it. Pulling out a handful of papers, 

“What’s inside?”

“A…bunch of letters?…for you.” 

“For…me?”

Chloe hands over the stack and Rachel takes them, reading over the first one. Her mom…wrote to her…for almost a year. Chloe pulls more papers out and hands them over. Letters to her father, some from a lawyer that Sera had hired. Next Chloe pulls out a stack of voided checks. All from her father’s bank account and written out to a Sera Gearhardt. According to the checks, Sera hadn’t cashed any in a while.

“This is…a lot.” Rachel looked down at the letters and turned up to Chloe who had pulled a black flip phone from the box. Chloe turns to the other girl about to same something when panic fills her eyes.

“Dude are your parents supposed to be home now?” Rachel jumps up as headlights pass over the window and the sound of the garage door echoes through the house.

“Crap!” Rachel shoves all the letters in the box before shoving it in Chloe’s arms, closing the cabinet and locking it before pocketing the key and pulling Chloe out of the room. She closes the door and arms it before shoving Chloe up the steps and towards her room.

“OK, new plan, you hide.” 

“Got it?” Chloe asks as she’s shoved in Rachel’s room. 

“Rachel?” The two freeze at the voice downstairs as Rachel’s dad called her. Rachel shoved the silver key at Chloe.

“OK, please stay here. As long as he thinks he misplaced the key he’ll never know we were there.” Rachel explained, “I hope.”

“Ok, I’ll see if I can make sense of these skeletons. Hurry back?”

“I’ll do my best.” Rachel promised as she turned to meet her parents downstairs. She stopped to grab a towel from the laundry room to dry the entryway, hoping to make it look like she just got home.

She hurries down the stairs seeing her parents hang wet coats on the hanger.

“There you are! Did you get caught in the rain?” Her mother asks as she gestures to the wet floor by the entrance. 

“Yeah,” Rachel started as she moved to dry the floor, Rose immediately coming over to help.

“It came down so hard, they cancelled the play, the set was completely waterlogged.” Rose explained as she pulled a mop from the closet and returned. “I imagine stage crew will be very upset about that.”

Rachel nods, Steph especially won’t be happy to learn the set was damaged in the rain.

“On the bright side, that fire looks almost completely out.” Rose pointed out and Rachel whipped her head up to look at her mom, “I heard on the radio that the fire was almost out.”

“That’s good,” Rachel nodded,

“Well, I’m going to get started on dinner. Why don’t you help me set the table?”

Rachel gulped and nodded as her mother moved to the kitchen.

_I really hope this goes quickly._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was really nervous about putting the flash that Rachel sees in. I was really unsure about the delivery of that, but I promise you guys these two are going to be fine. It will be explained in the next chapter.  
> This is probably the last chapter that will follow the Before the Storm plot so closely, it’s going to get drastically different from here and I’ve got some stuff in store that I’m really excited to show.
> 
> Also there are some slight supernatural things at play right now, I was hoping to be subtle with it but if my dear readers what to guess? At what character(s) what powers they may have? Go Ahead!
> 
> Chloe’s Car reference - http://www.imcdb.org/i345178.jpg
> 
> Chloe’s outfit here is based off one of the concept art outfits from the artbook. It’s the black and white skeleton ribcage one with the heart on it? That one.
> 
> Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is a real book that is a required read in several elementary schools. (It’s actually a trilogy but most schools only require you read the first one.)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey Guys! So this was my entry for the Life is Strange fan fiction contest. I've been working and reworking it relentlessly and am very happy with this first chapter so far. Feedback appreciated!


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